1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of using germinated brown rice which can be boiled together with polished rice, a germinated brown rice processed food, a germination apparatus for obtaining germinated brown rice from brown rice and a filling apparatus for filling germinated brown rice in a container.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that germinated brown rice has excellent advantages including overcoming unpleasantness in eating brown rice, containing about four times as much dietary fiber as polished rice, containing more amino acid and vitamin B groups to thereby promote health and help constipated persons considerably.
It is also known that nutriment is activated and saccharification hormone is produced by germinating brown rice, so that albumen starch is decomposed to thereby increase sweet and smell.
Normally, germinated brown rice is eaten by boiling a mixture of a proper amount of germinated brown rice with polished rice. If a proper amount of brown rice is mixed with polished rice and boiled, however, the boiled mixture is sometimes disadvantageously difficult to eat because of the great difference in softening degree between the boiled brown rice and the boiled polished rice and making a person feel palatably unpleasant.
This problem can be overcome to some extent by lengthening boiling time to soften the germinated brown rice. However, a household rice cooker does not have a function to lengthen boiling time. Due to this, it is true in present situation that germinated rice cannot be easily eaten.
Further, the germinated brown rice produced by an electric germinator is live brown rice with sprouts put out. For that reason, if the germinated brown rice thus produced is left for a while, the nutrient thereof greatly declines as rhizogenes is progresses.
Considering this, even if preserved in a refrigerator, the germinated brown rice is fermented to continue germination and the nutrient thereof greatly decline as well the rice gets moldy, resulting in disposal. This is the main cause of the less spread of eating germinated brown rice.
Further, when brown rice is germinated using a well-known germinator, a great amount of foam is generated and the foam overflows the container of the germinator. Overflowing yellow foam soils the surroundings, thereby disadvantageously making cleaning time longer.
It is, therefore, first object of the present invention to provide a method of using germinated brown rice and a germinated brown rice processed food which allow palatably eating germinated brown rice without giving the peculiar difference in palate of the germinated brown rice from polished rice, easily processing and boiling the germinated brown rice by a microwave oven or eating boiled germinated brown rice mixed with polished rice and preserving the germinated brown rice.
It is second object of the present invention to provide a germination apparatus capable of suppressing foam from being generated when germinating brown rice as much as possible without soiling the surroundings.
It is third object of the present invention to provide a germinated brown rice filling apparatus which allows quite easy, prompt operation of filling germinated brown rice in a container and avoiding making filled quantity uneven.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will be readily apparent by the reading of the description given hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings given for illustrative purposes.